French Author Says Russia Expelled Her on Political Grounds

Prominent French journalist and author Anne Nivat said Russian immigration authorities forced her to leave the country where she was working on a book on the current political situation.

In an email from France, Ms. Nivat said Russian immigration officials in the provincial town of Vladimir detained her and gave her three days to leave the country. While the formal reason given was violation of visa rules, she said that officials who questioned her made clear that her meetings with opposition politicians were undesirable.

“It clearly didn’t please them that I was having conversations with people from the opposition—they clearly said it, many times,” Ms. Nivat said, noting that officials had information about her meetings that suggested she had been followed for days.

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